Page 1 of Alien Knight Blind Date Disaster

Chapter One

Falden Corshival was the most ancient of the Lumerian Knights. The Strongest. Wisest. He never resented his responsibility to his people, simply doing whatever needed to be done to ensure their survival. Embraced his duty. Made hard decisions. Sacrificed everything.

Two thousand years had passed since their world was destroyed and they fled to Caldor. Sought refuge on the large allied planet. Stayed hidden as those who destroyed Lumeria continued to hunt for survivors. And in all that time, the survivors, about a hundred Knights who made their way first to Caldor and now to Earth, looked to him for leadership. Expected him to know what to do, make all the right decisions, keep them alive. Never, in all that time, had he questioned his purpose.

The fact that one small human female could jeopardize everything made his normally cold blood burn in his veins like acid.

Falden shifted in the hard chair, wishing he wore his Lumerian armor instead of the black trousers and black shirt his second in command, Gareth, had convinced him to wear in order to “look human.” He was used to being unseen, the Lumerian Spectral Cloaking Armor he normally wore making him and his fellow Knights completely invisible when he was on a mission. He was not accustomed to drawing the eye of every man and woman in the room, as he was doing this night in the noisy, crowded bar and grill.

He tapped his ear communication device, signaling his team that he needed their attention. They’d been together for centuries, could read each other so well there was rarely a true need to voice his thoughts. Two of his fiercest warriors sat in a dark corner booth, ever watchful, surveying the overloud human area for threats.

“This is not going to work,” he murmured, careful to keep his voice and movement to a minimum. The last thing he needed to do was draw more attention to himself.

Falden was visible to the general public, human or otherwise, for the first time in centuries. He focused, remaining still and watchful. His body thrummed. He’d been unseen and therefore ignored for so long, he now felt… uncomfortably exposed. Careful to speak Caldorian and not Lumerian, his native tongue, he grumbled, “I find it hard to believe this blog you’ve found could possibly be true. I know of no Lumerian woman who would tolerate a single item from this human list of courting rituals.”

Vander, one of his best Knights, shrugged. “I agree. But we’re talking about ahuman. Potentially dangerous. A reporter who could expose all of us, even if it’s unintentional. She knows something about the items that were missing from Sevron’s quarters after the attack. She’s made contact with someone through their internet, attempting to sell Caldorian technology. We only caught one of the traitors responsible for the breach in our defenses last month. Perhaps she is working with another. And you said it yourself—we can’t afford to be wrong.”

Cassiel, another of his best, nodded and added dryly, “Besides, she’s going to think you’re her newest contact, remember? This is her meeting. Her drop site. We wouldn’t have known about it if she hadn’t tried to get into our system through the back door and go through Sevron’s files. She’s been digging into the black markets and the Intergalactic Council, not to mention Caldor.”

Through clenched teeth Vander continued, “That means Lumerian secrets are at risk. We’re at risk. She’s no innocent. Whatever setup she has going here, we need to find out what she’s up to and who she’s been working with. Who is sheactuallysupposed to be meeting here? Don’t forget, she’s not even using her real name. She started this. We’re just playing her game.”

Falden’s frown only deepened. He knew the stakes. Every Lumerian Knight still in hiding was at risk. Every Caldorian. Every human. She could jeopardize planetary defenses or expose a two-thousand-year-old secret. A secret he and his men had worked tirelessly to hide. Sacrificed everything to keep.

He looked around at the happy couples and small groups of humans with a practiced eye. If there were any nonhumans in the room besides himself or his Lumerian Knights, he would sense their presence. He was ever watchful. After the attack on Earth, he was even more alert. Ready. His senses were better than any human’s. He could see better. Move faster. No one would get past his Knights, but if they did, he would make short work of them.

Assured that for the moment they were safe, he allowed himself to think about the mysterious female reporter. She may be able to lead them to the traitors who had taken down the planetary shield. The breach in Earth’s defenses had allowed the Vilitos to come in undetected in a surprise attack. He knew there was an expanding black market on Earth; they were selling everything from ancient alien artifacts to advanced research, weaponry and secrets. Maybe someone would know how to find Sevron Bashall, commander of the Caldorian Earth base and a Lumerian royal. Sevron had disappeared during the Vilitos attack. They’d had no leads to his whereabouts until now. Until this…human.

He would do whatever was necessary to accomplish this mission. Lives were at stake, including the female reporter’s he was about to meet. If she managed to expose even one of his people’s secrets, their enemies wouldn’t hesitate to kidnap and torture her for information.

And the Vilitos were usually the scouting party for much more violent and formidable species, beings and civilizations that King Dagan of the Caldorians had chosen not to discuss with the humans and their many competing Earth governments. But every Caldorian warrior knew the truth, as did Falden’s Knights.

There were far worse fates than death.

Gareth, his second in command, cut into Falden’s thoughts with a deep baritone through the communication device, “I read the reviews. One human said he’d been going about dating all wrong for years. Always lost the girl because he was a nice guy, until he started following theNice Guy’s Guide to the Hookup. Now he’s out with a new girl every weekend.”

Falden’s eyes narrowed. “I’ve never had to resort to these kinds of tactics to gain a female’s attention.” He didn’t have time for female entanglements to begin with. And he most definitely had no interest in courting a new female every week.

“Well, we’re not talking aboutourwomen,” Vander growled angrily, “as most of them are dead. We’re talking about human women and whattheylike. This human blogger guarantees results and is a popular and admired dating instructor on the planet. He has over a million followers on social media.”

Falden shook his head. “Still an idiot. And if he’s so admired, they’re all idiots.”

Cassiel smirked. “Knowing Vander, he probably tested it already. Must be the reason so many women have been crawling all over him since King Dagan made him start pretending to be one of his Caldorian guards.”

Vander shook his head. “No time for a test run, remember?” He grinned, albeit reluctantly. “Besides, we all know Falden needs help far more than I ever have. He’s always working. Probably doesn’t even remember how to pleasure a woman,” he teased. “Can you even remember a time he de-cloaked long enough to let a woman get a proper look at him?”

Falden’s three warriors, the very best of the Lumerian Knights, and his most trusted companions for nearly two thousand years, continued to joke at his expense. His lips quirked with amusement, but the look didn’t last long, not with theNice Guy’s Guide to the Hookupburning a hole in his pocket.

Gareth abruptly gave a hushed warning from his post outside the bar. “Target in sight. She’s not alone.”

“Stop fidgeting.”Jessica Carmichael, Isabella’s longtime friend and coworker, nudged her with a shoulder as they walked across the parking lot. “You look scared. Don’t look scared.”

“I’m trying.” Isabella swallowed nervously and forced her hands into fists at her sides to keep them from shaking. She felt like someone had shoved a small dagger between her ribs, right over her heart, the sharp pain chronic and unrelenting. The pounding in her head made thinking difficult. The truth was that she was terrified.

“Try harder.” Jessica spoke through a wide smile and tossed her hair back over her shoulder like she didn’t have a care in the world. They both looked fabulous, dressed to kill, which wasn’t meant to be literal, but the night was young.

Jessica didn’t know the whole truth, and Isabella couldn’t bring herself to tell her best friend all the details. Knowing everything was dangerous.

Isabella pushed her fake lenses closer to her nose, the heavy, thick black frames refusing to stay in place on her nose as she walked across the parking lot of the most upscale bar and grill in town. She’d picked this particular place because she figured no one would ever recognize her through the disguise. She’d never frequented the popular restaurant, although she’d heard plenty of rumors about the imported beer and slick hustlers. If she were looking for a quick hookup, this was the place to go. Not that she was looking. In fact, she wasn’t looking for anything even resembling a hookup. She’d had enough of good-looking men and their lies. No. She was going into the most popular bar and grill in town wearing a wig and overly large glasses because she couldn’t afford to be recognized by the person, or people, meeting her here.

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